After the first of two nights in the Cave Springs Campground
within the Oak Creek Canyon, north of Sedona, we started our day at the Slide Rock
State Park.
Oak Creek is gorgeous and our stroll through its narrow
walls, as relaxed as it was, was exactly the stretch out we needed.
But when Indy caught sight of the teenagers and adults going down ‘slide rock’ - the natural water chute the park is named for - and with Nath egging him on of course, he stripped down to his undies and strode straight out.
We’re still unsure whether he intended to start immediately
(allowing no time for freaking out – smart thinking) or whether he just slipped
in, but he was sliding from the minute he stepped out from the bank, with an
expression wavering between exhilaration and panic as the creek carried him in
and out of the many small pools along the slide’s more than 20 metres of length.
The greatest challenge ended up getting him back to our side
of the bank. He had pulled himself out on the opposite side and stood there
shivering, unable to process what had just happened. Then he slipped trying to cross the creek and
slid down an entire section of the slide over again.
His understated comment “Mummy I’m cold” preceeded him lying straight down on the red dusty rock of the creek bank, shivering and leaching all warmth from the ground.
Needless to say, our lazy afternoon getting groceries and checking out the town paled in comparison to the morning’s excitement.
